With Every Action, There is an Equal Opposite Reaction
by Liontalon
Summary: When his students are attacked by a missing-nin, Minato finds himself standing in the consequences of a decision he made two years prior. Sometimes, even mercy can be a bad thing. Series of one-shots. AU.
1. Chapter 1: Hello Again

With Every Action, There is an Equal Opposite Reaction

He held his breath, eyes tracking the figures below him, cataloguing weaknesses.

The girl was probably the best target, her posture was that of a long-range fighter, she was also a medic if her slightly larger pack was anything to go by. The boy, judging by his clan symbol, was a mid-range fighter, though he shouldn't be underestimated –that clan was known for their prodigies.

Both were probably genin or recently promoted chuunin, they were roughly his age, maybe a year older. Meaning, chances were they weren't alone, a jounin or a more experienced chuunin was in the area.

He had to be quick about this.

Normally he wouldn't risk it, but his father couldn't wait any longer, he needed to get a better stocked med-kit.

He waited until the young shinobi passed under his hiding spot before moving. Neither noticed his presence as he landed soundlessly behind them. But, when he pulled a kunai, the boy tensed spinning around to warn his teammate, eyes blazing red.

But he was faster.

The girl tensed against him, as he wrapped an arm around her –the kunai at her throat. But she didn't scream, the only noise was her startled intake of breath. But her bravado didn't fool him, he could smell her fear.

"Let her go, you bastard!" the boy snarled, tomoe spinning warningly. He didn't advance, though, thinking better of it.

"Give me your medical supplies and I'll think about it," he responded, voice cold and uncaring.

The boy didn't hesitate, reaching for his pack.

"Obito! Don't negotiate with him!" his captive halted the other's progress.

"Quiet!" he snapped, pressing the kunai closer as a warning, blood trickled slowly from the wound.

"Rin!" the Uchiha gasped, unconsciously reaching for the girl.

"Now, Uchiha!" he growled, growing uncomfortable with the amount of time this was taking, "Or she dies!"

"I don't think he has to worry about that," a voice said softly.

He felt a presence behind him, and –by how easily the man had snuck up on him –he was clearly a jounin. In his current state, he had no hope of defeating a jounin. With a quick estimate of the distance between himself and the nearest tree, he released the girl and darted toward his escape.

However, as he leapt toward the tree, a figure appeared before him and threw him back. Flipping around, he landed on his feet, finally looking at his opponent.

His blood ran cold.

* * *

It finally seemed like they would win, after this seemingly endless stalemate, Iwa was due to arrive in the next few days, bringing much needed reinforcements. If they broke through this line they would have control of the sector, giving them a strategic staging ground to win the war.

He was the youngest on the field, at the age of nine, but that didn't make him any less deadly. Most of his enemies underestimated him, considering him a genin who ended up in the wrong place, that was their mistake. He was a chuunin, well on his way to jounin, and the son of one of Kumo's most feared nin –not that the enemy realized this before it was too late.

But, he was tired –like everyone else on the field. This battle had been raging for close to three weeks, rations and medical supplies were running thin; the landscape had been decimated offering no shelter from the elements. Neither side could collect their dead, therefore, the stench of rotting corpses was becoming overwhelming.

He longed for a shower and hot meal… and a bed, a real bed. Soon, he told himself, after this, those that had been on the field the longest would be cycled back for a reprieve. There was some childish hope within him that his father would be there when he got home.

His musings were cut short as the leaf nin started the fight up again. The cowards weren't even showing themselves, hiding behind any cover they could find, as they flung kunai at them. The kunai weren't even aimed, just thrown carelessly into their ranks.

Before he could even comprehend what was going on, screams rose from the other side of their ranks. The stench of fresh blood filled his nose. He turned, planning to head toward the disturbance, but the jounin closest to him stopped him.

"Retreat!" the woman yelled, turning away from the leaf nin, "Everyone, fall back!"

He didn't understand why they were retreating, but he wouldn't disobey orders, turning on his heel he followed the jounin. He passed one of the leaf's kunai, noticing how strange it was, three-pronged.

He didn't have time to contemplate it, as the jounin was cut down in a flash of yellow. He realized all of his comrades were being cut down in a similar fashion. Fear welled within him, and his channeled more chakra to his legs, in a desperate attempt to reach the tree line.

There was a single kunai in his path, and then there was a man. One hand reaching for him, the other holding a bloodied kunai in anticipation. The boy skidded to a halt, fear causing him to freeze up, he recognized this man. One he was warned constantly about. Sun blond hair and blue eyes.

Konoha's Yellow Flash.

Today was the day he would die, he realized with a jolt, suddenly wishing he had taken the time to seek out his father before leaving. His death would surely break him. The boy waited for the deadly slash of the kunai, but it never came.

The leaf nin's hard eyes had softened slightly as he looked at him, though his frown had deepened. Then he stepped aside, jerking his blond head toward the woods.

"Get out of here, kid," the man said emotionlessly.

The boy hesitated, not wanting to get stabbed in the back, but after a moment he darted to the side. Giving the Flash a wide berth, he reached safety within seconds.

He had been the only survivor of the battle, all because of their boogeyman's mercy.

* * *

And now he found himself in the same position, at the mercy of one of the most feared men in the nations. Konoha's Yellow Flash.

"Not so fast," the man said, eyes narrowed, taking in every detail, "I don't appreciate threats on my students lives."

"If I had known they were your students I wouldn't have attacked them," he bit out, discreetly looking for an escape.

The jounin frowned, eyes narrowing even further.

* * *

Namikaze Minato recognized the boy before him, despite how he'd changed over the past two years. His headband was pulled down over his left eye, his clothes were worn and clearly weren't properly cared for. He also seemed thinner, his mask didn't fit tightly against his face. The boy's visible eye had deep rings under them from obvious lack of sleep.

The biggest change, though, was the slash through his _hitai-ate,_ marking the boy as a missing-nin.

That came as a shock to him, when he'd last seen the boy he was on the frontlines, fighting gallantly for Kumo. When he flashed toward his chakra signature, reaching to grab the foreign shinobi and swiftly kill him, he was surprised when he had to look down.

The silver stock of unruly hair did nothing to hide how young the child was, or the fear in his dark grey eyes. But what tore at Minato's heartstrings was the boy's acceptance, he knew he was going to die and accepted that as fact. It made Minato sick. At child at that age had no right to be on a blood-soaked battlefield, no right to be that indifferent to his own death.

So, he let him go, hoping to never encounter the child again. Though it seemed like fate had other plans.

"I suppose you do own me for sparing your life," he said coolly, wishing to be anywhere else. How he had wondered about the kid, who he was, how old he was, if he was even still alive. It was foolish, the boy was an enemy, but that didn't stop him from wondering.

"You ruined my life!" the boy spat, his visible eye filled with contempt.

Minato blinked in surprise. How could showing someone mercy be a bad thing? Apparently, his students agreed, because Obito let out an indignant squawk, and Rin gasped. Both had retreated to a safer distance, watching their sensei and stranger warily.

"You should have killed me."

Minato made to respond to the boy's accusation, but he was interrupted by a low howl ringing through the forest. The boy in front of him stiffened, and for a brief moment grief flashed across his face. Then he leapt for the trees again, this time Minato let him go, curious as to where he was going.

* * *

When Tsurara's mournful howl rose from the direction of their camp, he felt a stab of fear. There was only one reason she would draw attention to herself like that, but he couldn't allow himself to believe that. Father couldn't be…

He made another jump toward the trees, barely noticing the Flash and his team following. he needed to get to camp.

The run seemed so much longer than it should have been, as his he ran he thought of all the possibilities for Tsurara's howl. None of them were good.

Finally, he came to the small cliff where they had made camp for the past few weeks, there was a small fissure that led to an opening large enough to fit two people and their packs. It was covered by a fair amount of foliage, hiding it from unexperienced eyes. It would look uninhabited if not for the large white wolfdog sitting beside it.

Tsurara, his father's pack leader, sat like a silent guardian, unmoving until he landed beside her. Then the dog looked at him with sad eyes, standing to block his entrance.

"Tsurara," he growled distractedly, even here he was suffocated by the smell of fresh blood.

"Kashi," the dog said softly, "I'm sorry… don't blame yourself for this, there was nothing you could've done. It was better this way."

"Why didn't you stop him?" he asked, forcing down the lump in his throat, eyes still fixated on the crevice.

"Because he wished to go on his terms, not by a slow acting poison."

"I would've found something!" he snarled, heart clenching painfully. The dog blinked at him slowly.

"He did this for you, Kashi," she growled softly, "You honestly think he didn't notice how you were taxing yourself to provide for him? Skipping out on your portion of the meals, depriving yourself of sleep to stand vigil over him. It was killing you both!"

He didn't respond past clenching his jaw, his eye narrowing as he tried to see past the shadows. At this Tsurara sighed, looking away from him, after another moment she stepped aside, giving him a few last words.

"He wanted me to tell you he loves you, Kashi."

He didn't respond, and stepped into their hideout, into the scene he feared.

* * *

Minato watched from the trees as the child – Kashi? – conversed with the summon, both were clearly upset. He knew it had something to do with the smell of blood on the air, and, judging by their words, someone close to the boy had taken his own life to spare the boy from having to watch his slow death.

Minato didn't know if he agreed with that thought process, as he heard a grief filled cry from where the boy had vanished.

It was then that his remaining two students caught up with him, both wheezing from the fast chase. The looked warily toward the summon, before looking to their teacher with silent questions.

The blond shook his head, motioning them to hold their position. After receiving nods of understanding, he jumped to the ground.

The summon stood, fangs bared, hackles raised.

"You have no reason to be here, Konoha," it snarled, taking a defensive position in front of the cave.

"I'm not here to fight," he said, raising his hands in peace.

"I don't care," it growled, stepping forward, "You're not welcome here."

"Okay," he relented, realizing he wasn't getting in without a fight, which he was unwilling to have, "I'll wait out here then."

The wolfish dog snarled, clearly displeased by his declaration, deep blue eyes following his every move as he settled against the tree his students were in. After awhile, she –for it was definitely female –settled back into her original spot, eyeing him the entire time.

Minato didn't know how long he sat out there before the boy came out, but it was long enough for Obito to fall asleep, his snores could be heard drifting down from above. But, the boy finally emerged, looking horrible, blood stained his clothes and his eye was shadowed. Minato's heart clenched at the sight.

After a moment of looking around in a slight daze, the boy's eye settled on him, and narrowed.

"You're still here?" he grunted, his displeasure and annoyance shining through.

"We never finished our conversation, Nukenin-kun," Minato said softly, though he couldn't help adding that little jab, maybe he was hanging out with Kushina too much. As it was the boy's eyes narrowed further at the nickname.

"Don't call me that," he growled, "I have no interest in continuing our conversation beyond apologizing for attacking your students. I hold no ill-will toward Konoha, and was only taking advantage of an opportunity. It won't happen again."

Minato couldn't help being a little surprised by the maturity of the boy's response, though he knew it was forced.

"As nice as that is, Nukenin-kun," Minato started, ignoring the glare at the use of the nickname, "You are a missing-nin, one from Kumo, who we happen to be at war with, as I'm sure you're aware. It would be in my village's best interest to use you as a bargaining tool."

The child stiffened, and the summon was suddenly before him snarling, but the boy didn't seem fearful, rather he was calculating.

"But, you'd rather not do that," he said confidently, and Minato couldn't help a small grin, this kid was good.

"No, I'd rather not, how about you come with us for now, and when we make camp tonight, we continue our conversation."

The boy seemed to be weighing his options, but seemed to realize Minato would get what he wanted one way or another. So, he sighed, and wilted suddenly, like all his energy was sapped away.

"Fine, but if you're going to pester me you could make yourself useful," here the boy hesitated, before nodding to himself. Turning back to the cave, he continued, "Come on."

"Kashi," the summon protested.

"I can't carry him by myself, Tsurara."

That killed any further protests from the summon, who sighed and nodded. Passing her, Minato followed the boy into the cave.

He was immediately assaulted by the smell of blood, it was overwhelming. He peered through the darkness to locate its source. Which wasn't difficult considering how small the cave was.

The body had obviously been moved and arranged into the position it was in now. The man was laying on his back, with his hands at his sides, eyes closed. But Minato's eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the man's torso, where a long, deep gash could be easily seen, due to the man's lack of shirt.

It was a horrible wound, it was jagged and messy, which would be explained by the man doing it himself. The pain the action caused, only to keep pushing through it. Then the time it took to bleed out, which, honestly, couldn't have been that long judging by the depth, length, and position of the gash. The man had hit multiple vital organs, and severed multiple blood vessels, still it would've –and did by the amount of blood on the ground –taken several minutes.

Minato spared another glance at the boy, who's eyes were purposely diverted to a point on the wall before him.

Glancing back at the body, now taking in the man's features, Minato could barely suppress a gasp. He'd seen that face before, in just about every bingo book out there, most having a 'flee-on-sight' order.

This was Kumo's former White Fang. Hatake Sakumo.

He took in the man's silver hair, and remembered the dark eyes from the picture in the bingo book. Looking at the boy, the resemblance was glaringly obvious. He never heard of the White Fang having a child, but it wasn't uncommon for villages to keep children of their legendary shinobi secret, to keep them from being targeted.

"Hatake-kun," he said softly, drawing the boy's unsurprised gaze, "Would you like to take him outside?"

"Yes, it doesn't feel right to burn his body here," the boy responded, voice lacking all emotion.

Nodding, Minato made to grab the body of one of the most feared men in all the nations, only to stop at the boy's request. Glancing at him, he saw the boy started to go through one of the packs sitting by the wall. After a moment, he pulled out a shirt, and looked hesitantly at his father.

"Here," Minato said softly, reaching for the shirt, "Let me."

The child didn't hesitate this time, handing the shirt to the man, it a few practiced moves Minato had the shirt on the man. He thanked kami that the White Fang hadn't gone into rigor mortis yet, it would have been much more difficult if he had. The shirt was also a dark blue, near-black, so the blood stains weren't that noticeable.

Moving to grab the body once more, he paused to look at the boy for conformation, he received a nod in response. He lifted the body, and carefully maneuvered out of the cave. In the sunlight, he couldn't help but notice what he hadn't before.

The body shinned with the remnants of dried sweat, indicating a high fever, his skin had taken on a yellowish tint. His extremities and the skin around his eyes were also tinged blueish-purple.

He heard his team gasp, as he laid the man down, and Rin was quickly by his side.

"He's already gone, Rin," Minato said softly.

"I know," she responded softly, "I recognize the poison, even though that's not what killed him."

"Could you have saved him?" the boy's voice drifted from behind him, causing Rin to stiffen momentarily, before she shook her head.

"No," she said, turning to look at her former attacker, "It's relatively new, and we haven't discovered a cure yet. By the time its symptoms start to show, it's too late to do anything, it's a truly horrible way to die."

Rin didn't go into specifics, and Minato was glad, he knew what type of poison she was taking about, many of his friends had been taken by it. It was truly horrifying to watch.

"I see."

The boy still had a blank look on his face, he glanced around them for a moment, until the summon, Tsurara, pressed her head against his side. The boy stepped forward, bag in hand, and whispered a few words to his father. Then he pulled a white cloth out of the bag and laid it on Sakumo's chest.

It was a slashed Kumo _hitai-ate_ , Sakumo's _hitai-ate_.

Stepping back, the child hesitated, looking to the summon for reassurance. The animal pressed herself against the boy again, whispering a few words. He nodded at her words, seeming to steel himself, then raised his hands.

"Wait, Hatake-kun," Minato hurriedly said, once he realized what the boy was about to do, "You don't have to, I could–"

"Thank you, Jounin-san," the bot cut him off, "But I do, he's my father, it's my duty to him."

Before Minato could protest further, he had flashed through several seals, releasing a _katon_ jutsu. The flames quickly engulfed the body.

The smell of burning flesh was always unpleasant, but Minato had long since learned to steel himself against it. His students didn't have such practice, Rin turned rather green and turned away, and Minato to could hear Obito retching in the treetops.

Hatake didn't seem fazed, though the jounin figured it had more to do with the boy being in shock than anything else. The flames reflected in his visible eye demonically, giving the boy an otherworldly look.

He couldn't suppress a shutter as –as if in answer to his thoughts –the summon let out a long mournful howl.

The stood in respectful silence for a few long moments afterward, then Minato turned to the child. His eyes soft, not wanting to push him.

"Hatake-kun?" he called, drawing the boy's vacant gaze, "We can't stay here, the smoke and Tsurara's howls will draw unwanted attention."

Slowly, the boy nodded, turning and disappearing into the cave for a few moments before returning. He had a pack settled over his shoulder, and a sheathed tanto in his hand. Minato immediately recognized it as the White Fang's signature weapon, the one from which he got his name.

"Let's go then," he said, ignoring the still burning body.

Minato nodded and took to the trees, his students and the boy following without question. The ran for several miles, being careful to cover their trail, until they came to a small, nearly dried up, creek bed.

It was well sheltered on either side by the gully walls, trees overhung their chosen spot, hiding them from above. The creek provided enough fresh water for all of them to refill their canteens.

As night fell, they settled in against one of the gully walls, eating their rations. As Minato ate his dried meat, he could stop his straying glances toward the boy. Who was sitting a little ways away with Tsurara curled around him. What did he mean before?

"Just ask your questions or stop staring at me," the boy finally snapped, sending a one-eyed glare towards him.

"What did you mean when you said I ruined your life?"

"Exactly what I said."

"Bastard!" Obito snapped, glaring at the other boy, "I don't know exactly what happened, but sparing someone's life is generally a nice thing to do!"

"Obito!" Rin scolded, glaring pointedly at her teammate.

"I was the only one to walk off that battlefield, what sort of message do you think that sent to my leaders?"

Obito stared at him for a second not understanding, Minato did immediately, and suddenly had an inkling of where this tale was going. Rin also seemed to get his meaning.

"They thought you had given up information for your life."

"Correct, and after I convinced them I was no traitor, the Tsuchikage had this _brilliant_ idea. Since it was shown that Konoha showed mercy on children, why not send one undercover, to sabotage and leak intel."

Minato stiffened, realizing how disastrous that would be, thinking of any children that were brought into the village since his first encounter with Hatake.

"Of course, the first choice would be the child that Konoha had already shown pity on, me. My father protested, he had never thought too kindly of espionage, and wasn't willing to throw his only child into the hands of the enemy.

"At first the Raikage listened to my father's protests, since they were friends and he was a mentor to his sons. But as casualty numbers increased, so did the Tsuchikage's insistence. Soon it was decided that I would be taken to a spot near the Konoha border, gravely injured, and left to be found by a patrol–"

"You agreed to this?" Minato interrupted, appalled by all of this.

"I didn't have a choice in the matter, I was a shinobi of Kumo, I would do what my leaders required of me."

"What happened then?" Rin pressed quietly.

"My father wasn't having any of it, he tracked down us down and killed my escort. You know the rest, he was labeled a missing-nin, and they kept my existence quiet. Probably hoping to track me down and drag me back."

"What happened to your eye?" Obito asked without seeming to realize how rude he sounded.

"Obito…" Rin warned, as Hatake's hand moved to brush the cloth covering his eye.

"Run in with Hunters a few months back, probably the same ones that poisoned my father a few days ago…"

"I'm sorry for your loss, Hatake-kun," Minato said sincerely, "I know you don't want to keep answering questions, but I have one more. Why did you trust me so easily?"

"I didn't trust you," Hatake corrected, "But after you spared me, Father said he wasn't surprised. That you were Jiraiya-sama's student. Therefore, an honorable man. Besides, if you wanted to kill me, wouldn't you have done so earlier?"

"I suppose," Minato paused, then grinned, "Jiraiya-sensei always spoke highly of your father."

The boy's eye widened slightly, before something akin to a smile crossed his face.

"I have a question for you," Minato blinked in surprise at this, "I was under the impression that Konoha's squad system worked similarly to Kumo's, but you're an odd man out."

The tension in the air skyrocketed, and Obito gritted his teeth, only Rin's hand on his arm stopped him from exploding. Noticing he had stepped into something best avoided, Hatake backtracked, apologizing.

"Don't," Minato cut him off, "You're right, my other student was gravely injured by a Kumo-nin. He survived, but… he isn't the same. He's no longer on active duty."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"It's alright," Rin started then frowned, "You never told us your name."

"Oh, sorry," Hatake said, hesitating, "I'm Hatake Kakashi."

* * *

When morning came, so did Kakashi's decision.

"I can't come with you."

Minato wasn't all too surprised by this, though he couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. His students however didn't understand.

"Eh, why not, Bakashi?" Obito asked, earning a sharp look from the silver haired boy at the name.

"What happens if the Hunter-nin find you again? You'll be by yourself."

"No, he won't, I'm not going anywhere until he has a pack of his own," Tsurara grumbled, coming to stand beside her summoner's son.

"I better find Pakkun then," Kakashi quipped, though it was obviously forced. The dog whirled around and glared at him.

"You are not making a pug the leader of your pack!"

"We'll see; and thank you for your concern, Rin, but I'll be fine. I don't want to put your village in a compromising position by sheltering me."

"But we're already at war with Kumo!" Obito shot back.

"And when there's peace? What then, Uchiha? War cannot last forever."

"Maybe we'll meet again," Minato said smiling softly, placing his hand reassuringly on the boy's shoulder.

"Maybe, thank you all again."

And like that he was gone.

* * *

"Hokage-sama," Minato said, as he stepped unannounced into the room.

Multiple pairs of eyes turned to look at him, and the jounin winced, but he could turn back now.

"Minato!" his sensei greeted with a broad grin, "And here we were worried your student's bad habits were rubbing off on you."

"Very funny, Sensei."

"Minato-kun," Sarutobi greeted, "You were starting to worry us, though your mission wasn't so important that you had to report right away."

"I know, Hokage-sama, I apologize, I'll come back later."

Minato tried to bow out the door, but a voice stopped him.

"You're already here, Namikaze-san, whatever you had to say in front of the Hokage would be shared with us anyway."

"Danzo is right, Minato, come in," Sarutobi reassured, ignoring his shinobi's unease.

"Of course, Hokage-sama, I came to report the death of Kumo's nukenin, Hatake Sakumo."

Eyes widened around the room, though only Jiraiya's closed in grief and respect.

"Have you proof?" Danzo asked, eye narrowed dangerously.

"I saw his body burn before my own eyes."

"You killed him then?" Koharu asked.

"No, I found his body."

"You just happened to stumble across the body of Kumo's White Fang?"

"No, I was… I was lead to his body by another nukenin," Minato bit out, he had been hoping to avoid mentioning Kakashi's presence.

"Who?"

Minato didn't answer right away, forcing Sarutobi to prompt him.

"Minato, who lead you to his body?"

"Hatake Kakashi."

"Hatake… Kakashi?" Jiraiya stuttered.

"Yes."

"And who exactly is that?"

"The White Fang's son."

There was dead silence in the room, as the processed this bit of information, though Jiraiya had this grin pulling at his lips that worried Minato.

"And where is this child now?" Danzo growled.

"I don't know."

"You mean you let him get away!" the older man snarled, gaining his feet swiftly, "Do you know what you've done! That child could have brought about the end of the war, as a bargaining chip or a weapon, and you just let him go!"

"That's enough, Danzo," the Hokage's voice cutting through the tension, "While I may not agree with what jounin Namikaze has done, there is nothing we can do to change the fact now. We'll discuss this later, Minato, you're dismissed."

The blond bowed stiffly and turned on his heel exiting without a word. That went worse than expected, he shouldn't have said anything. But his duty to the village required him to report Hatake's death. If only the elders weren't there.

But, Minato didn't realize the magnitude of what he had done.

As the Hokage dismissed him, Danzo was calculating how to get his hands on the White Fang's legacy. That was a tool that couldn't be allowed to fall into the wrong hands.

 **Hope you enjoyed.**

 **I don't have anything planned for this, maybe a few scenes but not a full length story. So, that being said, I might add few other one-shots to this, I might not.**

 **But, let me know what you thought of it.**


	2. Chapter 2: Second Meeting

The rumbling growls of his dogs, and the feeling of flaring chakra nearby, woke him. Groaning he sat up, taking in the sun's position through the trees. It was late. Far later than he intended to sleep.

Kusa was dangerous territory, and he was close enough to the Kannabi Bridge for patrols to pass through the area frequently.

The only reason he'd stopped was due to chakra exhaustion, the result of a clash with a Kumo patrol. He had run for hours to lose them, burdened with the weight of his youngest puppy. When he had finally lost them, he collapsed in the first defendable place he found, trusting his pack to warn him about any danger.

Like they were doing now.

From the flaring of the chakra he guessed two shinobi groups were clashing, probably an Iwa patrol and a Konoha team. After all, if the bridge was destroyed Iwa would lose their main supply route. A heavy blow to the frontlines.

He knew he should use the distraction to his advantage and sneak away. But his curiosity got the better of him.

"'Kashi," Tsurara growled warningly, as he rose.

"Stay here, I'll be back shortly," he responded, climbing out of the hollow of roots.

"Boss–" a pug started to protest, but was cut off by his summoner.

"Stay."

He quickly took to the trees, moving steadily towards the sound of battle. His breath caught as the sound ceased suddenly, and three chakra signatures approached his position. Masking his chakra, he made himself as small as possible. Waiting in tense anticipation.

They passed a few yards to the right, beyond his view, not seeming to notice him.

He breathed a sigh of relief, he doubted he could take on three nin at the moment, his chakra levels were still too low.

Looking back in the direction they'd come he was surprised to feel three chakra signatures still there. Moving slowly, he drew closer, ensuring they wouldn't detect him. As he did, the sounds of an argument reached his ears.

"–it's hard, I know, but sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do!" a man snapped, "The mission must come first, it's one life compared to countless, there's no competition, Uchiha-san!"

Kakashi was finally close enough that he could see the Leaf-nin, there was an Inuzuka and his hound, and… Obito? He blinked in surprise at the familiar Uchiha, not having expected to ever see him again.

"But, they'll kill her!" the boy protested loudly, obviously frustrated with the older man.

"I'm sorry, Uchiha-san, but Nohara-san will have to hold on until after we complete our mission."

"I don't care!" Obito snarled, "You complete the mission, I'm going after Rin."

"You do that, Uchiha, and you'll be facing a court martial!" the Inuzuka growled, his ninken baring its fangs alongside him, "The more time you waste arguing, the longer Nohara-san will have to wait. She's a medic, they won't kill her."

Obito looked like he was about to protest further but the older man seemed to have enough and shoved the boy forward. The man took off in the direction of the bridge, Obito grumbled and gave one longing glance in the direction the other nin had taken before following the Jounin.

Kakashi frowned deeply, he shouldn't get involved. Really. He was still suffering from chakra exhaustion and those Kumo-nin might still be in the area. He didn't owe them anything –well he didn't owe Obito or Rin anything… their teacher…

But he did hold the girl at kunai point, and by saving her would be paying off that debt to the Flash. But he didn't know the skill set of the other nin, or their numbers, he'd definitely be walking into a trap. That was the only reason the Iwa-nin would leave a Konoha team so close to Kannabi.

Besides, the Inuzuka was right, being a medic they wouldn't kill Rin –torture her for information? Yes. –But they wouldn't kill her… unless they find out who her teacher is. Then they would kill her without an ounce of mercy and drag her mutilated body to display on the frontlines.

Iwa always made things so messy.

Still, the girl was a chuunin, and a student of the Yellow Flash, she should be able to resist torture long enough for her team to rescue her. Plus, her being a medic limited the torture techniques the shinobi would be willing to use. You don't want to damage the medic to the point they can't heal the wounded.

Gritting his teeth, Kakashi shook his head, and snuck out of the bamboo grove and back into the trees. No, he couldn't afford to get into a fight right now, especially not for a girl he barely knew.

* * *

However, as he crossed the area the Iwa-nin had went, his nose twitched at their scents. Rin's was easily identified, though, judging by the way it overlapped with another, she was being carried. He thankfully couldn't smell any blood, so she was in relative good health.

The scent of the one carrying Rin was unfamiliar, though he could tell it belonged to a man. But the other Iwa-nin's scent caught his attention, it was one he knew. He couldn't remember the man's name, but, he remembered the man well enough.

He used two blades, but wasn't skilled enough to be placed on the frontlines, which had irked him at the time. Especially after he'd met Kakashi. He was aghast that a little kid was fighting on the frontlines while he was running supplies and guarding outposts. He'd taking to disparaging Kakashi's every move, claiming he'd only gotten to where he was because of his father pulling strings. Not by his own merit. He liked to talk about how he wouldn't last long without his father protecting him.

Kakashi's unit had moved out within a few days, and he hadn't thought about the man since. Now though, with his father dead and himself left with nothing, the man's words stung. Before he realized what he was doing, he'd picked up speed, moving quickly toward the pack.

He'd been waiting for an opportunity to train the pups.

* * *

"Come on pups, time for some real-life experience!" Kakashi called out as he arrived at his hiding spot.

He was immediately met with enthusiastic barks and wagging tails, as the two puppies tumbled over each other to get out of the hollow. The two older dogs followed, each sporting a displeased look.

"What do you mean by real-life experience, pup?" Tsurara growled.

"The pups need experience, and I have the perfect mission," Kakashi responded, as he picked up the smallest pup, who wiggled happily in his hands.

"What type of mission, Boss?" the pug asked, his face twisting into the dog equivalent of a scowl.

"A rescue mission, Pakkun," he distractedly responded, as he calmed the greyhound puppy.

Both Tsurara and Pakkun, opened their mouths to protest, but Kakashi continued before they could.

"Now, I know there are at least two nin and our captive, and, judging by past encounters with Iwa-nin, they'll be holed up in a cave. One which could easily be brought down on the heads of any infiltrators."

"Of course," Tsurara drawled, "And you want to walk right into an obvious trap, with no intel or planning, on a what? Just who exactly are we risking our necks for?"

"I'm paying off a debt, besides I have a bone to pick with one of the Iwa-nin."

 _"Bone!"_ the larger puppy yipped, his long floppy ears perking at the name of a treat.

"Maybe later, Guruko," Kakashi chuckled, "After we rescue Rin."

"Rin!" his father's summon barked, "That…! The Yellow Flash's student!"

"Yes," Kakashi sighed, leveling the summon with an annoyed look, "Like I said, I'm paying off a debt."

Tsurara was clearly displeased, but wisely kept silent and grabbed Guruko by the scruff. She leapt to the closest branch and waited for the others to follow. Pakkun followed the older dog's lead and jumped after her without a word.

Kakashi groaned inwardly, with both older dogs upset with him life just got more difficult. He knew Pakkun would do as he said besides what he thought of it, though he might protest thoroughly beforehand. But Tsurara, she wasn't obligated to do anything. She just stuck around to ensure he didn't manage to get himself killed. She could leave on a whim and never come back.

He'd have to apologize later, but after they rescued Rin.

* * *

It was relatively easy to track the Iwa-nin to their hide-out –at least for a decent tracker and an experience ninken. Kakashi was immensely pleased to find that the two shinobi were alone. He suspected that they were a patrol, and that their other member had been taken out previously or sent to relay information to an outpost.

Either way it made their job easier.

"Tsurara, Pakkun," he called softly, from his position on a tree branch far enough from the tree line to be hidden from view.

The two dogs appeared at his side within seconds, leaving the two pups to wait on the ground.

"It's just the two of them, and the one is running a constant patrol around the area. Up past there," here Kakashi pointed to an area in the immediate direction of the battle site, "Is the farthest he gets from the cave, but we can't count on him not changing that routine so we have to move quickly."

"What's the plan, Boss?" Pakkun asked.

"I want you and Tsurara to take the pups and deal with the one patrolling. I'll deal with the one in the cave and rescue Rin."

"By yourself." Tsurara stated.

"Yes, by myself."

"But, Boss, you're still low on chakra from escaping that Kumo patrol," the smaller dog protested.

"Leave it, Pakkun, if the pup wants to plan his own funeral let him," the wolf-like dog grunted, "We'll take care of the pups."

She jumped to the ground and coached the pups into a crouched position, from there they crawled toward where they'll ambush the Iwa shinobi. Pakkun hesitated and gave Kakashi a long look before following the others.

Kakashi sighed, he didn't have time to deal with this, and moved into position as well. They had to move at the same time. He had to anticipate the dogs' movements just as much as they did his own. It was more than just a learning experience for the pups, but for him also.

He slowed his heart and his breath, focusing on the chakra of the enemy nin as he made his patrol route. The man was move exactly as predicted, heading for the exact spot his dogs were waiting in ambush.

 _Five._

Breath, he told himself, he could do this, there's nothing different about now from all the other times he's done infiltration.

 _Four._

Except now he doesn't have a village to return to. Or a team to support him.

 _Three._

Not true, he has his pack. Pakkun, Guruko, Uhei. And Tsurara was still standing by him.

 _Two._

He just had to have faith in them, and in himself.

 _Now!_

Pushing chakra to his legs he shot through the mouth of the cave –tanto drawn –just as he heard snarls from behind him. The man crouched before Rin, stood in surprise at the sudden unfamiliar chakra signature. Blades coming up to defend himself.

The screeching clang of metal on metal, echoed around the cavern, as Kakashi's tanto grated against the Iwa-nin's blades. The man's eyes widened momentarily before his face twisted into a sneer.

"Well if it isn't the White Fang's brat," he laughed, pressing his blades harder against Kakashi's tanto, using his superior weight to his advantage.

"I see nothing's changed since the last time I saw you, Iwa-scum!" Kakashi grunted, channeling chakra to his arms to compensate.

"I can't say the same for you," the man grunted, "I heard a rumor that you had gone rogue along with that piece of trash you called a father, couldn't believe it. But guess it's true, heh, maybe they'll give me a promotion when I bring them your head."

"You'll have to kill me first," Kakashi growled, breaking away from their power struggle and rolling to avoid the slashing blades.

He came up on the man's other side, moving to slash him across the shins as he did. The man moved. And while Kakashi did get a hit in, it wasn't as deep as he would have liked.

"You little, brat!"

The man charged at him, blades poised to stab down on the boy when within range. Kakashi leapt into the air to avoid the blow, slashing his tanto down on the shinobi's shoulder as he came down. But the man seemed to be expecting that, and as Kakashi landed one of the man's blades sliced his back open from shoulder to hip.

Kakashi couldn't help his scream of pain, as he stumbled out of range, turning to face his opponent. He grit his teeth and glared at the Iwa-nin.

"Did that hurt, child?" the man asked mockingly, "You going to go cry to daddy? Though I guess, because you have his blade, he really did fall. Too bad you didn't go with him."

"Shut up, you bastard," the silver-haired boy growled, "Shut the hell up!"

He shot forward, twisting to the side as the man moved to meet him. Kakashi used his smaller stature to his advantage, ducking away from the taller man's attacks. When they locked blades once more, Kakashi was surprised when the man cried out.

Looking at his tanto he was surprised to see it covered in electric chakra, the electricity traveled down the man's blade. Not wasting the distraction, Kakashi drove the sparking blade through the Iwa-nin's chest.

When the man was dead, he stepped back a few paces before falling to his knees, panting. He was dangerously close to passing out again, his chakra didn't appreciate more abuse so soon. He suddenly found himself very glade he hadn't eaten in the past twenty-four hours, as his vision blurred and the world spun around him.

A small noise, caused him to snap in the direction of the cave entrance, causing the world to tilt dangerously. There he could barely make out the shape of a large white dog, Tsurara, his mind supplied. She stood there watching him for a long moment before turning away.

Once she was gone, Kakashi turned his attention to clearing his vision and calming his stomach. It took a few minutes before he could stand and see properly. As he did, he was painfully reminded of the wound on his back.

Swallowing a cry, he purposefully moved toward the back of the cave, where Rin was propped up. Settling in front of her, he saw that her eyes were glassed over in an obvious sign of genjutsu.

Wincing, he moved back a bit, before releasing her. Her eyes cleared immediately, darting back and forth, as she gasped. Eventually, they focused on him, she gaped at him, as his eye curved into a smile.

"Ka… Kakashi?" she sputtered.

"Yes?"

"What… what are you doing here?"

"Rescuing you, obviously," he grunted, "You're welcome, by the way."

"Thanks… but–"

"Not now," Kakashi interrupted, standing abruptly, "We can't stay here, reinforcements will be on their way."

"Right," the Konoha medic nodded, standing somewhat shakily, and gave him a sharp nod.

With a nod of his own, Kakashi turned ready to exit the cave, only to be stopped by Rin's hand on his shoulder. It took all his self-control not to attack her. Still he turned on his heel to snap at her, only to be shoved back.

"Your back, Kakashi!" she snapped, "You can't leave this untreated!"

"We don't have time–"

"Then we make time," she growled right back, "Do you know the dangers of moving through an area with an open wound, like this? I do. They're not pretty, an infection in a wound like that can, and will kill you! Now sit down!"

The nukenin blinked owlishly at the medic before slowly complying, he'd forgotten how scary medics could be when faced with a stubborn patient. He knew better than to push his luck, or he might be hurting worse later.

"Good," Rin said, "now where's your medpack, mine seems to have been misplaced?"

He pulled out his pathetically understocked med-kit and handed it over, wincing as she looked through it with a look of disbelief. Slowly her eyes locked on his, her brow raising incredulously.

"This is your med-kit."

It wasn't a question. But Kakashi felt obligated to answer anyway.

"Yes."

"Kakashi," she ground out, "This is the worst stocked med-kit I've ever seen. You have a single roll of bandages –which look like they've been used –and three disinfectant wipes…"

"I apologize, but life as a missing-nin doesn't exactly pay well with a war going on. It's not like I have a village to restock my supplies," Kakashi bit out, sending the girl a dark glare.

The medic flinched, realizing her misstep, and pulled out a wipe in silence. She had Kakashi pull up his shirt to reveal the full extent of the wound. She wiped it clean, using up all the disinfectant he had, before using her chakra to heal the wound. She couldn't close it all together and wrapped what she couldn't with the bandages.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, she nodded to herself and stood.

"Alright, that'll have to do."

"Good, now let's go," Kakashi grumbled, pushing himself to his feet and lead the way out of the cave.

He was greeted by the sight of two puppies rolling around on the ground. Guruko, bigger, easily pinned Uhei, but let the young greyhound up. Allowing her to pounce on him and chew his ears. Pakkun sat nearby watching for enemies.

"Boss!" Guruko yapped, as he spotted his summoner, he bowled over Uhei and jumped against Kakashi's legs, "We got him, Boss! Can we get a bone now?"

"Boss, bone!" Uhei yipped, copying the older pup.

"Later, Guruko," Kakashi said, gently rubbing the pup's ears, "We haven't finished our mission yet. We have to get Rin to her team."

The pups' eyes turned to the girl who was watching in amusement. They stared at her for a long moment, before Uhei slunk back behind Kakashi, unsure of the new person. Guruko, on the other hand, bounded forward tail wagging as he sniffed her feet.

"Hi, hi!" he barked, "I'm Guruko."

"It's nice to meet you, Guruko, I'm Rin," the girl smiled, petting the dog's head.

"That's Uhei, and over there's Pakkun, he's a grump."

"I heard that, pup," Pakkun growled, he stood and moved toward the group, "We've got to get going, 'Kashi, you've got a large number of shinobi moving in this direction."

"Reinforcements," the boy growled, "Ok, let's go. Tsurara…"

Kakashi blinked, he glanced around the clearing, not spotting the familiar white form. He frowned, having seen the wolfdog after the battle he knew she was alive.

"Pakkun, where's Tsurara?"

"Later, pup, let's go," Pakkun's voice left no room for arguments.

Reluctantly, he dropped the subject and turned his eyes on the two pups, wondering how he was going to carry both of them. Noticing his look, Guruko bonce up and down.

"I can run, Boss, I promise I can keep up," the hound barked, tail wagging happily.

The silver-haired boy gave the pup a calculating look, before slowly nodding. He bent to pick up Uhei, ignoring the twinge of pain as he pulled his wound. The red-furred pup licked his masked face, before settling in his arms.

"Alright let's go."

They took to the trees, heading for Kannabi at a steady pace.

* * *

They were half-way through setting the explosive tags when the Jounin's ninken growled warningly.

"What is it?" Obito asked, looking up from his side of the bridge.

"Someone's coming," the Inuzuka growled, drawing a kunai, "Hurry up with those tags, Uchiha."

Obito grumbled under his breath, something about big-headed jounin. But he picked up the pace as he laid the tags at the key structural points on the bridge. He couldn't wait to see it blow up. The sooner it was gone the sooner they could rescue Rin.

Rin…

Those Iwa bastards would pay for laying a hand on her, he would make sure of it. If they hurt her… he couldn't even consider the possibility. Rin would be fine. This wouldn't be a repeat of… of that incident. He wouldn't lose a teammate like that again.

His head shot up at the sound of leaves rustling, immediately preparing for attack. There was no way those Iwa bastards weren't going to be back. The bridge was too crucial to the war effort.

So, he was surprised when a familiar face shot out of the trees landing neatly at the end of the bridge. Brown hair waved in the wind, obscuring familiar purple marks on her cheeks, and the happy grin stretching across her face.

Obito's heart caught in his throat, and his own face split in an answering grin. Because she was safe. He couldn't find a single injury from where he stood.

 _"Rin!"_ he cried, joy clear in his voice, "You're ok!"

"I'm fine, Obito," she laughed.

"How did you escape?" the Inuzuka asked, his voice laced with suspicion, "You were outnumbered, with no help or weapons."

"Hey!" Obito squawked, "You should be happy that Rin got away, Bastard!"

"The circumstances are suspicious, Uchiha."

"If you're implying that I gave up information for my release you're wrong, Inuzuka-san," Rin said, before Obito could respond, "And I never said I didn't have help."

As if summoned by her words another body materialized beside her.

"The area's clear for now, but it won't be for long," the person grunted, turning his lone eye on the Jounin, "I would hurry up your sabotage mission if I were you Jounin-san."

"Ba- Bakashi!" Obito cried incredulity.

The silver-haired nukenin turned his grey eye onto the Uchiha, with a tired expression on his face.

"Call me that again, Uchiha, and I'll gut you."

"Bakashi! It is you! And you're still a bastard!"

The former Kumo-nin blinked at him, before turning to Rin with a sigh.

"I do believe your teammate has something wrong with him."

"I'm aware, we're working on it."

"Hey!"

"Well, you can tell your sensei I've paid my debt to him," the boy said, glancing back at the trees, "Try not to get yourselves killed, I won't always be around to save your hides."

"Wait, Kakashi!" Rin stalled him before he could disappear into the trees. She turned to Obito who was still sputtering after the other boy's comment. "Obito, do you still have my spare med-kit?"

"Yeah," he said, as he dug through his pack for the med-kit his teammate gave him after lost his in a river. Pulling it out he tossed it to Rin.

"Here," Rin said, catching the pack and handing it to Hatake, "As a thank-you for saving my life, maybe it'll save yours in the future."

The boy seemed to frown, as he looked at the med-kit before pocketing it. Nodding his thanks, then he was gone in a swirl of smoke.

"What the hell was that!" the Inuzuka barked, giving them shocked looks.

"That was Bakashi, he tried to kill Rin a few months back," Obito said dismissively, turning back to placing his explosive tags.

"And he's suddenly risking his own neck to rescue her?"

"Yeah, Minato-sensei spared his life, even though he was a bastard."

The Inuzuka looked ready to reply before thinking better of it.

* * *

"Ok, talk."

"What do you want me to say?"

"You can start by telling me what happened."

"We did our job, the pups served as a distraction, while Tsurara and I took him out."

"And then?"

"Tsurara went to check on you, while I went over everything with the pups."

"That doesn't tell me where Tsurara is," Kakashi snapped in frustration, Pakkun blinked at him slowly.

"This has been a long time coming, pup, you can't tell me you didn't see it."

"See what!"

"You know how the summoning contract works, we bind our souls to our summoner's. as such our lives our extended, we stay in our prime until we are killed or our summoner is killed. Then, if our summoner is killed, all those extra years hit us, aging us decades within months. Tsurara was in her forties, the only reason she held on for so long was to make sure you could care for yourself, and that we could protect you."

Pakkun leveled him a look as he stood.

"That was her apology to Sakumo, for not protecting him."

With that Pakkun left him alone with his thoughts.

That was why she had been getting so angry with him lately, for the unnecessary risks he was taking. He hadn't even noticed her slowing down, though in retrospect it was obvious. Was he so oblivious? Or had his mind refused to see the strong constant figure of his father's first summon as anything different.

When she had seen him after the battle, injured but pushing himself forward, what did she think? That he was ready to face this world on his own? Or that she'd failed? That she didn't have any more time to help him or his pack. That he'd have to figure out everything else on his own.

His mask felt damp, as the reality hit that his last living connection to his father, to his past was gone. Pakkun and the pups didn't have the same wisdom that she did, they all looked to him for guidance, thought Pakkun had his moments. The one he looked to was gone, forever, and he had to live with that, and keep the others alive.

Just like when his father had taken his own life, he wasn't prepared for this loss, and it hurt.

* * *

The sun shined brightly when the Yellow Flash stepped back into Konoha, the sun reflecting off his hair almost blindingly. Many people called out greetings but they were all ignored, he had a mission that he'd be damned if he didn't accomplish. He'd been kept on the frontlines for longer than anticipated and he worried greatly for his team.

Logically, he knew that the Kannabi Bridge had been destroyed, therefore their mission had been a success. And that if they'd lost members he would have been informed. But still he had to see them with his own eyes.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the two he was looking for sitting at Ichiraku's, chatting about something adamantly. At least, Obito was, Rin was nodding along, seemingly have given up at getting a word in edgewise.

Grinning brightly, he stepped up behind them and pulled them into a bone-crushing hug. Ignoring their squawks of protest, and just being content that they had survived being out of his sight for so long. Never again, he vowed, never would they be sent on another mission without him again. Too many things could go wrong, even if they didn't this time.

After being reassured that all was still right within the universe, he released his students, who both gasped for air. As they did so he settled beside them.

"Congratulations on a mission well done," he said, grin never faltering, "A good mission with no complication, and no injuries."

He paused when he saw the uneasy glances his students gave each other.

"What?"

"Well, Sensei, I wouldn't say no complications…" Rin trailed off, unsure, as Minato felt his body grow cold.

"What happened?" he growled, a dark look on his face.

"I may have been captured."

Minato saw red briefly before calming himself, Rin was right here, she's fine.

"I see, but Obito and Ha rescued you."

"Well…"

"No!" Obito cut in, anger clear on his face, "That bastard was all like the mission comes first, we'll rescue Rin after destroying the bridge. He even threatened me to comply!"

The red was back. But he restrained himself, he needed to know what happened first.

"Then you got yourself away, right?"

The hesitation was back.

"Well no, I had help."

"It was Bakashi, he saved Rin," Obito cut in again.

Minato blinked once, then twice as he tried to process what he'd just heard.

A missing-nin had to rescue his student because the Jounin on her team refused to. A missing-nin who had no obligation to do so, who by chance was in the area. A missing-nin who was younger than her.

The red was nearly blinding now, as he stood stiffly, moving in the direction of the Inuzuka compound.

"Wha… Hey! Sensei, where are you going?" Obito called after him, but the blond ignored him, he had a Jounin to talk to.

With his fists.

* * *

"Repeat that."

"Team Minato, encountered the target on their mission to destroy Kannabi Bridge, according to reports."

"And why, were you not there to apprehend him?"

"Our mission was to follow Namikaze himself, not his students."

"And yet, you missed your target because of this oversight! Anyone whose had contact with Hatake should be followed! He's liable to approach any one of them."

"Understood, sir, it won't happen again."

"It better not, for your sake, Hatake is a tool we cannot allow to fall into the wrong hands!"

The masked man remained silent.

"Get out there and find him!" Danzo snarled, waiting until the other man had disappeared to fall back into his chair.

Every team he'd sent to find the Hatake brat had returned empty handed, and now when one team came so close to the prize they blew it! The longer it took to acquire Hatake the harder it would be to shape him into a loyal tool. The easier it would be for enemies to get ahold of him, which could spell disaster for Konoha, if his father's reputation was anything to go by.

This was one task his Root could not fail.

 **Hello again, hope everyone's well.**

 **This has turned into a series of one-shots, I have a few planned out but obviously with my track record I can't promise you guys anything so... I'll see you when I see you.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **To those currently participating in GISHWHES good luck on your hunt!**

 **To those in the northern hemisphere and planning to watch the meteor shower this weekend enjoy! Unfortunately for me, they finally fixed the street light on my block, after eight years of it not working, today. so now i'd have to walk down to the river to find a dark spot and doing that after midnight with a bear that isn't afraid of people wandering around town... I most likely won't be able to see it.**

 **And lastly, to those starting school good luck on your year, have fun!**


	3. Chapter 3: Konoha's Yellow Jumping Bean?

With Every Action, There is an Equal Opposite Reaction

"Boss, I'm hungry," Guruko whined, dragging his paws through the snow as he followed his summoner.

"I know, Guruko," Kakashi sighed, giving the pup a strained smile, "Just a little while longer, I promise."

Their food had run out three days ago, and there hadn't been any sign of wildlife. With winter setting in, there wasn't any berries they could eat either. But Kakashi was thankful that they weren't in an area that got feet of snow on a regular basis, or with temperatures dropping too far below freezing.

They were still miserable though… well most of them were miserable.

Uhei was having the time of her life, the red furred greyhound had grown in the past few months and was now taller than Guruko. She was all legs and loved running and jumping in the snow.

He sighed at her antics, though there was a small smile under his mask, he knew it wouldn't last long. The pup's coat was too short for this weather and she'd be growing cold again soon. It was time to head south, at least there they wouldn't have to deal with the snow. The only problem was that it would lead him toward Fire Country, not exactly where he wanted to be.

In the past few months since he'd rescued Rin, there had been an increasing number of Konoha Anbu sniffing around his trail. He had headed away from Konoha to avoid them, it was bad enough with Kumo's hunter nin. He didn't know what he'd done to piss off Konoha's black ops, but he wasn't too keen to find out.

He considered going into the Land of Water, but the thought of the constant smell of wet dog made him scrunch his nose. That wasn't an option. Neither was the Land of Grass or the Land of Waterfalls, both of which were directly in the path of Konoha and Iwa's patrols. He wasn't going into Wind Country either, his dogs would complain constantly about the hot sand.

But he didn't want to stay in Earth Country any longer, it was a risk to come here in the first place. His best bet would be the Land of Rice Paddies and to travel down toward Water Country or Wave. Hopefully, Konoha would be preoccupied with their war; the hostilities between Konoha and Kumo had tapered off recently, after the Third's death.

Kakashi wasn't sure how to feel about that, the man was responsible for his father's death, and for his own exile. But he could remember the man that had been his father's friend. A and Bee's faces also flashed in his mind's eye, they had always been kind to him. Bee was often at the house since he was training with his father.

He remembered the pain of losing his own father, it wasn't something he'd wish on anyone. He wouldn't celebrate the Raikage's death, he'd remember the man as he was before the war, before the Tsuchikage started putting ideas into his head.

He was concerned about how things would change concerning him, he knew A was named Yondaime. He was curious if he'd be named an official nukenin, and how many hunter nin would be sent after him. For now, Kumo's efforts seemed to lessen, probably due to changes being made.

But for now, he had to focus on his current problems he could worry about what-ifs later, when they became relevant. Now he needed to focus on getting out of Earth Country.

His best way of getting to the Land of Rice Paddies was to travel along the coast and cross into the Land of Waterfalls, and then continue along the coast, cutting through the Land of Fangs to the Land of Rice Paddies. The only problem was how close traveling along the coast would take him to Iwa and Taki. But it was his hope that both would be too occupied with defending their own borders to be looking in the other direction.

"Come on, Uhei," he called to the frolicking greyhound, "We've got a lot of ground to cover in order to reach the Land of Rice Paddies."

The pup sighed, but dutifully tailed after the group; Guruko grumbled about his empty stomach. Pakkun bounded forward, jumping between his footprints, taking pity on him Kakashi scooped the pug up and placed him on his backpack.

"Rice Paddies, huh?" the oldest dog huffed, shaking his fur out.

"It's the best place I can think of, I'd say the Land of Fangs but they frequently trade with Kumo, I don't want to risk it."

"Rice Paddies is close to Lightning's border."

"I know, but they trade mostly with Fire Country, Kumo's required to move along certain paths when crossing."

"But they don't always stick to those paths."

"No," Kakashi agreed, "But I can't think of anywhere better until it gets warmer."

"I'm not complaining, pup, I'm just making sure you were aware."  
"I am, Pakkun."

* * *

It took them two weeks to reach the Land of Rice Paddies, between dodging patrols and looking for food. Food was still scarce, he only managed to catch a few skinny rabbits along the way. He was worried for his dogs who were looking increasingly skinny –he wasn't faring so well himself.

But they had reached their destination and were relieved at the lack of snow, it was still cold but not freezing. Here he could hopefully find some work. Between the war and his age, people weren't willing to hire him for missions. So, he'd taken to going into villages as a normal kid, and getting work that way. The jobs he found only gave pocket change but it was better than nothing.

His money had run out a few weeks ago, along with the food. No one in Earth Country was willing to employ a stranger, even a kid, with the way the war was going. He hoped things would go better here.

He was approaching the first village they'd come across, he was alone leaving the dogs behind, as they were recognizable.

Hiding in the trees, Kakashi henged into an average looking kid. His now black hair was smoothed and curled around his ears, his eyes were brown, and his face was appropriately dull. His clothes were changed into something similar to what the village children wore, though it was a little rattier to draw pity.

Glancing down at himself he nodded in satisfaction, it would do.

Slipping through the trees, he found himself walking down the main road forcing himself to relax. Jumping at every sound or sudden movement would blow his cover. As it was, no one spared him a second glance as he stepped into what seemed like a small market.

It was perfect, the market was where most people were looking for small jobs to be done. He ignored the loud growling his stomach made as mouthwatering smells of freshly baked bread and other foods hit him. Listening carefully for anything that might interest him, and that a kid would be capable of doing in the civilians' opinion.

There was a wildlife problem, but they wouldn't give that to a kid. Leaky roof, no, take care of some thugs, no, delivery, no –wait, perfect. He turned to the stall where a woman was complaining that her delivery boy had never shown up.

Only to pause, as his eye fell on a trio making their way through the market.

* * *

"I can't believe this counted as a B-rank!" the red-head snarled.

"Well, it was a rather important scroll, Kushina," a dark-haired, dark-eyed woman chuckled, glancing at her companion with a soothing smile.

"I agree with Kushina, that should have been given to a genin team," the last woman groaned.

"I can understand them not sending us to the frontlines, but a delivery mission!" Kushina roared, ignoring the way civilians flinched away from her.

"Well, I'm currently the wife of a clan head, with a five-year-old at home. Yoshino is getting married next month, to a clan heir. And you, well, you are the girlfriend of one of Konoha's most feared shinobi," the second woman soothed.

"I am not that pansy's girlfriend, Mikoto!" Kushina shrieked, as Yoshino laughed.

"Oh, you broke up with Minato-kun again?" she asked, still laughing, "What'd he do this time?"

"That moron gave me flowers, what am I supposed to do with flowers? They make me sneeze. And then, we were sparring and he started pulling his punches, what, because I'm a girl I can't take a punch! He's a sissy anyway, 'ttebane!" the red-head ranted, much to her friends' amusement.

"I do believe the flowers were meant to be romantic," Mikoto chided.

"And men are block-headed when it comes to hitting girls, that's why you should use it to your advantage. Make them regret it!" Yoshino coached, while Mikoto sighed in exasperation.

"You're not supposed to be encouraging her, Nara Yoshino!"

"Hey, I'm not a Nara yet, Uchiha!"

"I can't believe you're marrying that lazy bum."

"He's better than that Mister Bow Before My Greatness You Ungrateful Peasant, you married!"

"He's not that bad!"

"He does tend to have a stick up his ass, Mikoto," Kushina laughed.

"That's just because he doesn't like you, he thinks you're corrupting me," Mikoto sighed, realizing this argument was one she wasn't going to win.

"Well he's not wrong; if he had it his way, you'd be a housewife popping out heirs for him."

"Kushina!"

"It's true!"

"How is Itachi, by the way?" Yoshino cut in.

"He's doing wonderfully, a little genius, Fugaku wants him to join the academy next year."

"Already? He's so young."

"It's up to Itachi, if he doesn't want to go we won't force him."

"You mean you won't."

"Kushina, stop it!"

"Fine, fine," the jounin said dismissively, before glancing around the market, "You guys think they have ramen here?"

"Doubtful, but I do spy a dango shop," Mikoto said, moving in the direction of the dango.

"Aw, I wanted ramen," Kushina whined.

"You always want ramen, I wouldn't be surprised if you named your kid after it," Yoshino grumbled.

"Shh!" Mikoto hissed, "Don't give her any ideas!"

It was too late, the Uzumaki had a thoughtful look in her eyes. Mikoto glared at Yoshino who sheepishly shrugged.

"I pity that kid," the Uchiha muttered, before freezing. The other two stopped as well, giving their friend curious looks, "Someone's watching us."

"Yeah, there are a lot of people watching us," Kushina tried to play it off, but she was frowning thoughtfully.

"Not them," Mikoto replied, her eyes turning red as she scanned the crowd.

Some of the villagers jumped back at the sight of the sharingan, fearful of the shinobi's intentions. But Mikoto paid them no mind, as her eyes narrowed on a boy slowly moving away. His body was covered in chakra, the classic sign of a henge.

"There, that boy," she pointed to said child, "He's wearing a henge."

The other women turned in the indicated direction, eyes narrowing in suspicion, and something similar to glee in Kushina's case. They glanced at each other, all wanting some sort of action after this dull mission.

So, they started to follow the black-haired boy, who, when he noticed he was being followed, broke into a sprint. Much faster than any civilian, the boy was running at mid to high chuunin speed. At the prospect of a challenge, the three Konoha shinobi gave chase.

* * *

The three Konoha shinobi were unfamiliar to Kakashi, except that he'd seen the red-head in Kumo's bingo book. And after his recent encounters with Konoha's Anbu, Kakashi had no desire to be caught by the women.

Besides, most kunoichi tended to be insane.

And every Konoha shinobi he'd met was already insane, he couldn't imagine facing a Konoha kunoichi. His mind refused to place Rin in that category, she was a medic –they had a category all their own.

So, he did the smart thing, seeing as they didn't seem to be aware of him he started moving down the street, keeping pace with the crowd. He could come back later, the Konoha shinobi seemed to just be passing through.

He felt the change in the crowd, the tension and sudden spike of fear. He could feel eyes on him, risking a look back he saw the trio had locked onto him. He felt a pulse of fear at the spinning tomoe of the sharingan, a damn Uchiha that's how they found him out!

Channeling chakra to his legs he bolted, hoping to reach the trees and disappear. The frightened screams behind him were telling, they were following.

In retrospect, he should have known he didn't have a chance of out running the pursuers. They were well rested; he on the other hand, was exhausted and starving. They caught him easily, the red-head landing in front of him with a feral grin. The other two landed behind him, blocking his only escape route.

Kakashi grit his teeth, he was so close to the tree line, so damn close. But it wasn't to be, he dropped into a fighting stance as the women closed in.

"Now, now, none of that," the Uchiha chided from over his shoulder, "Now just who are we dealing with, _Kai!"_

Kakashi flinched as his henge was dispelled. His good eye narrowing in agitation. The women gaped at him, obviously not expecting him to actually be a kid.

"A mini-nukenin?" the red-head gaped, "Kumo has mini-nukenin!"

"Well, that's disappointing," the unknown woman grumbled, crossing her arms.

"What the hell are you doing as a nukenin, kid?" the Uchiha asked, concern flooding her eyes.

"I didn't agree with my village, isn't that the standard answer?" Kakashi spit out, wondering how he was going to get out of this.

"I know you!" the red-head suddenly gaped, "You're that nukenin Minato-baka is always talking about!"

"Kushina!" the Uchiha scolded.

"Who?" Kakashi questioned, not knowing anyone by the name of Minato.

"You know," Kushina? Deadpanned, "Konoha's Yellow Jumping Bean."

Kakashi gaped at her, as the Uchiha started berating her teammate and the other woman started chortling. Did she just? The Yellow Jumping Bean? How can she get away with calling one of the most feared men in the Elemental Countries that?

"Kushina! You can't go around calling Minato-kun that!"

"Why? I think it's fitting," Kushina huffed, "Besides, it's better than calling him a sissy or pansy, like normal."

"Kushina!"

Kushina? As in Uzumaki Kushina? The Red Hot-Blooded Habanero? He was dead, between the Uchiha, the Habanero who calls the Yellow Flash a sissy, and this other person who's probably some other feared nin. There was no way out.

"Hey guys, I think he's broken," the other woman said, waving a hand in front of his face.

"Eh?" Kushina gaped, before grabbing him and shaking him roughly, "Hey! You can't break, 'ttebane! Minato would kill me, he wants to thank you for saving Rin!"

"He's the one that Obito-kun was talking about?" the Uchiha asked.

"Yup, the silver hair, missing eye, the mask, it's definitely him."

"Kushina, maybe you should stop shaking him," the brown-haired woman interjected.

Uzumaki looked at him and balked, releasing him immediately. Kakashi groaned, willing the world to stop spinning. He could barely hear the woman's apologizing, not that he cared, he just didn't want to throw up.

"Well then, I'm Uchiha Mikoto, this is Nara Yoshino–"

"I'm not a Nara yet."

"And I'm Uzumaki Kushina, 'ttebane!" Kushina finished before Mikoto could continue, "And what's your name, Nukenin-kun?"

Kakashi scowled at the nickname, and wondered if the Yellow Flash had shared it. But he kept silent about it and weighed his options, there weren't many. He could try to fight his way out and lose or comply and hope for the best. With a sigh, he answered.

"Hatake Kakashi."

The kunoichi stared at him, wide-eyed, before Yoshino spoke.

"As in Hatake Sakumo, Kumo's White Fang?"

"He was my father," Kakashi bit out, glaring at the woman.

"Well aren't you full of surprises," Mikoto said, eyes calculating, "I heard your father died."

"He did."

"So, who's taking care of you?"

"I can take care of myself," Kakashi growled, annoyed with this line of questioning.

"You're a little thin to make that claim, brat," Yoshino remarked, raising a brow at him. Her words drew long assessing looks from the other two.

"She's right, Nukenin-kun, when was the last time you ate?" Kushina asked.

"It's a little hard to get a job when Konoha-nin chase me out of town!" he snapped, feeling cornered. The three shinobi had the decency to look sheepish, before Yoshino once again took charge of the questioning.

"Well, that doesn't mean you couldn't steal a meal, I'm sure you're capable."

"Yes, but that draws unwanted attention, I'd rather make it through legal means."

"Smart kid," Yoshino said, leaning back.

Silence reigned for several long minutes as the kunoichi silently conversed, leaving Kakashi to stand there awkwardly. He was seriously wondering why things couldn't go right for him just once, and why he kept running into crazy leaf shinobi.

"Well, Nukenin-kun," Kushina finally said, drawing his gaze, "You have two choices, we drag you back to Konoha or you take this and go on your merry way."

Kakashi stiffened at the first choice, but relaxed at the second –he didn't notice the confused looks from Mikoto and Yoshino. As she spoke, Kushina pulled out a yellow frog wallet and bounced it in her hand.

Truthfully, Kakashi hated the pity, but thinking of his dogs and his own growling stomach the choice was painfully easy. Seeing his mind made up, Kushina tossed the wallet to him and stepped back. He caught it easily and darted away, surprised at how heavy it was.

Later when he counted the money out he'd be shocked to find enough to hold him over for a few months if he was smart with it. He might even afford new clothes and kunai, along with a room in an inn a few nights a month.

* * *

They watched the boy disappear, waiting until he was out of sight before speaking.

"He was so cute!" Kushina squealed, turning to her friends, both of whom were looking at her with raised brows, "What?"

"That wasn't your wallet," Mikoto deadpanned.

"I'm fairly certain it was Minato-kun's," Yoshino continued.

"Maybe," Kushina sighed, "I stole it after our spar, but he earns so much I doubt he'll even notice. Besides, he adores that kid, even if he won't admit it, he'll be happy I gave it to him."

"We'll see."

* * *

"Kushina, where is my wallet?" an angry voice met them at the gate, and with knowing looks Mikoto and Yoshino made themselves scarce.

"Traitors," Kushina muttered after them, turning to face the ball of fluffy yellow fury, he kind of looked like a pissed off puppy, she mused.

"Hello to you too, Minato-baka," she snapped, sweeping past him.

"Kushina, I'm serious, where is it?" he growled, trailing after her.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Besides the fact that it's mine?" the feared Yellow Flash cried incredulity, "Kushina, my rent was in there, please, my landlord gave me an extension until you got back. Why are you giving me that look? Kushina, what did you do?"

"Ah, well you see, Minato… I um… I…"

"Kushina where is my wallet?"

"I may have given it away as charity," she slowly said, flinching at the look on the man's face, "I didn't know your rent was in there. Um… you could move in with me for the time being… I'm sorry."

Minato was staring at her, trying to process everything she had said. He blushed at the mention of moving in with her, and quickly had to steer his mind away from that topic for now. Taking a deep breath, he looked at her, before asking the question he desperately needed the answer to.

"Just… who did you give my wallet to?"

"The mini-nukenin."

"Mini-nukenin?" She couldn't mean.

"Yeah, Kakashi, he was so skinny, I had to do something."

Why did that boy keep coming up in his life?

* * *

"So Hatake was seen by Uzumaki and her team, in the Land of Rice Paddies?"

"Yes sir."

"And how many times have we come close to capturing him?"

"Five, sir."

"And what goes wrong every time?"

"He manages to evade us, sir, we've never gotten eyes on him."

"Get out!"

"Sir."

The masked man left, leaving him to his thoughts.

"He manages to escape my Root every time I think we have him cornered, he slips away into the shadows. I'm doing something wrong, a group of regular shinobi on a meaningless mission manage to do what the entirety of my Root can't! How is that? I'll never capture him this way, there has to be another way. But what? What could… that's it. That'll work perfectly."

 **Hello again, two days in a row I'm shocked. But I'm going back to school next week so, it's not going to last, sorry. Anyway thanks to everyone who reviewed you guys are awesome, and I hope you'll enjoy!**


	4. Chapter 4: Kakashi's Little Spy

**Edit: Thanks to Catiorro for bringing this up as I meant to clarify this but forgot. Kakashi was around 13 in the first chapter (with Obito and Rin being 14) and I'm going to say a little over a year has gone by since then putting him in the 14-15 range for this chapter.**

Kakashi watched the kid eat out of the corner of his eye, slowly bringing his own meal to his henged mouth. The child was pale and thin –far too thin to be healthy– and if the way he looked at his ramen was anything to go by, there was a very good reason for that.

The boy's wide eyes studied the noodles like they completely baffled him, he didn't even start eating until Kakashi had. Then it was more of the boy studying what he did then slowly copying his movements. His reaction to –in Kakashi's opinion– mediocre ramen, was also very telling. After his first bite, he had stared at his bowl in amazement, saying he hadn't known food could taste like that when Kakashi asked what was wrong.

It was said without thought, the first thing out of the kid's mouth that hadn't sounded scripted. He had jerked immediately afterward, lowering his gaze in shame, embarrassment, and… Kakashi's nose twitched, was that fear?

He straightened in his seat, giving the child a sharp look, he knew this boy had been placed in his path for a reason. Someone's attempt to capture him, probably. But, the idea of someone using this child, a child as young as he'd been at the time of his first meeting with the Yellow Flash. It made his skin crawl.

"Finish eating, Kinoe," he ordered, turning back to his own meal, "We can't linger here."

"Yes, sir," the boy said, his sharp, practiced tone told of how frequently these words had left his mouth.

"No," Kakashi stalled the boy in mid reach for his chopsticks, earning himself a puzzled look that quickly shifted into a blank mask. "I'm not a sir, Kinoe, my name's Kakashi."

"I understand, sir, my apologizes," Kinoe said quickly, finishing his meal quickly while Kakashi groaned into his hand.

What was he getting himself into? When he saw the kid alone in the woods, miles away from any roads or towns, he'd been concerned. How could the child have gotten himself so lost? It was only when Kakashi started asking questions about where he was from, and where his parents were, that he's started getting suspicious.

Kinoe's responses were too calm and thought out for a scared child, as if they were part of a well-practiced script. From what Kakashi understood of normal children –since he didn't have any real experience in that category– the boy should have been weeping, scared out of his mind, and wanting his parents.

Hell, even Kakashi had wanted his father at that age after a particularly bad battle. But there was nothing like that from this boy, he seemed completely unaffected by his situation. Kakashi hadn't even seen an ounce of emotion in the kid's too wide eyes, except for that tiny flash of satisfaction when Kakashi had told him his name. Then it was back to the emotionless mask.

It made him uncomfortable, he'd even shown more emotion than this. But a small part of him whispered that the kid was just like him, a tool for his village, but Kinoe took it to an extreme.

Maybe that was why he didn't kill the boy, or at least leave him where he found him, when he figured out the boy was being used to find him. Kakashi wondered if he would eventually regret this, but he refused to let the child continue to be used like this. At the very least he'd show the kid some semblance of joy in the world.

And judging from his reaction to ramen, it wouldn't be too hard.

"Sir?"

Kinoe's voice startled Kakashi out of his thoughts, the boy was standing patently by his stool, bowl empty. Kakashi looked at his own half-finished meal and sighed, realizing he wouldn't be able to finish it.

Tossing some money on the counter, Kakashi stood.

"Alright, kid, let's go," he grumbled, starting off down the street, hands in his pockets.

Kinoe trailed after him, scowling briefly after being called 'kid', jogging to keep up with Kakashi's longer stride.

Kakashi grinned, seeing that small bit of defiance in the boy's eyes. With a brisk pace, he headed deeper into the market, amused by the boy's attempts to keep up with him. They needed a heading, with Kinoe's appearance Kakashi knew that those that sent him wouldn't be far behind.

They were currently in the Land of Hot Water, and Kakashi wanted to get down to the Land of Tea. With the Third Great Shinobi War in its death throes, Kumo having signed a peace treaty with Konoha, the fighting on Iwa's border had died down to the point that it was near nonexistent.

He heard the Tsuchikage was reluctant to sign a peace treaty, but rumors of the Hokage training a successor was forcing his hand. Kakashi hadn't heard who exactly was being appointed as the new Hokage, but they must be someone terrifying if the Tsuchikage was seriously considering surrender.

But peace meant villages could look beyond the fighting, at things that were brushed to the side during the war. Such as missing-nin, like himself.

He hadn't seen any Kumo hunter-nin since the Sandaime's death, despite being on Lightning Country's border. It was a bit unnerving, he knew A hadn't forgotten about him, and had a constant feeling that they were going to jump out at him one day.

Hence, why he wanted to go to the Land of Tea. First, Tea had no Hidden Village to speak of, therefore, no border patrols to worry about. Second, any hunter-nin sent after him would have to cross Fire Country, which probably wouldn't be happening any time soon. Third, it was untouched by the war, and hopefully they'd be a bit more willing to give him a job.

Kakashi paused outside a butcher's shop, and bought several nice bones for his dogs, ignoring the confused look on Kinoe's face. Guruko's been whining, and they have been very good lately.

He eyed the frog wallet, taking in how light it had gotten over the past few weeks, he gotten sloppy. Having grown comfortable with having money to spend, but he knew it wouldn't last forever, especially with another mouth to feed. He needed a job.

But going to the Land of Tea posed its own problems. Some of the same one's that the hunter-nin would face, such as going through Fire Country. He'd managed to avoid it for the most part, and wasn't looking forward to having to travel through, especially with his little spy.

He'd dawdled too long, already, with the new peace with Kumo, shinobi would be watching the borders like hawks, waiting for any sign of hostility. His only blessing was that peace hadn't been established yet with Iwa, meaning Konoha's forces would still be focused on that border.

He'd still have to be quick and move through the shadows, he gave the boy a sideways glance. Kinoe would be trying to sabotage every step of the way, Kakashi knew, but at the same time something told him not to leave to boy behind.

With a tired sigh, he stepped out of the village and onto the road, Kinoe followed him without comment. The silence persisted until Kakashi took to the trees, quirking a brow as the child followed without a word. Impressive for a lost child from a civilian family. But he said nothing, even as Kinoe's eyes widened and he stumbled before regaining his footing.

The kid was good but he was still young.

* * *

As the weeks passed a routine was developed between Kakashi and his spy, Kakashi would settle on a destination, Kinoe would report it to whoever he worked for, and there would be a random event that caused them to change their plans. The longer this went on the more frustrated and worried Kinoe looked, though he never said anything. So Kakashi pretended not to notice.

As weeks turned into months Kinoe's attitude changed once again, he looked more resigned to his fate. He sneaked off less often, he gave into Uhei and Guruko's insistent whining for play. And the silver-haired boy finally thought he was making progress with him. He got a clear window into the kid's soul in a small village between countries that they were passing through.

* * *

Kakashi paused when he noticed his usual shadow missing, he pushed down any irrational fear knowing his stalker wouldn't wander too far. Sure enough the boy was a few meters back, staring at something down the road.

He called out to the boy, hoping to get him moving again, and was surprised when Kinoe showed no indication of hearing him. That was different, usually the boy was hyper aware of his movements. A deep frown pulling at his masked face, Kakashi started moving toward his unwitting charge.

As he got closer, Kakashi could see the tension in the child's body, his fists were clenched tightly, and he was gritting his teeth. But, despite how close Kakashi came, Kinoe's burning gaze never turned toward him.

Coming to his side, Kakashi saw the cause of that burning anger, one that was so unfamiliar to him.

"Why?"

The Kumo nukenin blinked at the angry voice, and glanced down at the brown-haired boy.

"Why?" the boy repeated, when he didn't receive an answer, "Why are they doing that?"

For the first time, Kakashi saw tears rolling down the boy's face, tears of anger at the cruelty and mistreatment they were witnessing.

"Because people can be cruel," Kakashi responded simply, having no other answer for the kid.

"There's no reason for it," Kinoe spit out.

"No, the strong like to show their strength against the weak, despite how unnecessary and cruel it may be."

Before the silver-haired boy finished his sentence, the younger child was gone, charging down the road in a blind fury.

The group of boys were completely unaware of the infuriated shinobi bearing down on them. Instead they continued kicking and stomping on the small feline, encouraged by the laughing and jeers from the older men watching.

Kinoe hit the boys like a bull, knocking them to the ground, he then latched on to the largest of the children and started pounding on him. Despite the boy being twice his size, Kinoe easily beat down the civilian. The adults were about to intervene, but Kakashi appeared before them, henge dropped, looking every bit the missing-nin he was.

"How do you like it!" Kinoe was screaming, fists knowing exactly were to hit to cause maximum damage.

Kakashi knew he'd have to pull the boy off before he caused the civilian any lasting damage. But a small part of him was satisfied at seeing the boy get what he deserved. Yes, he was a shinobi and was well acquainted with bloodshed and the cruelest sides of the world. But most shinobi agreed, going after defenseless animals was cowardly and pathetic.

After waiting a few moments longer, the older boy turned toward the fight, and grabbed his younger counterpart. The boy fought him tooth and nail to get back, but his fury made him reckless and easily subdued.

"What the hell did that poor cat ever do to you?" Kinoe was still yelling, tears still streaming down his face.

"Kinoe," Kakashi scolded lightly.

The boy was breathing hard, but was finally relaxing in his grip, with one last warning look, he let him go. For a split second, Kakashi thought he was going to jump on the boy again, instead Kinoe ran to the cat, that still wasn't moving.

Sighing, he looked at the civilians that were clustered around the fallen boy, he was alert and glaring. Taking that as a sign Kinoe hadn't completely lost himself, and hurt the kid too badly, Kakashi stepped forward. Glaring at everyone, he seemed to tower above even those older and taller than him.

"Maybe you should take into consideration," Kakashi began lightly, "That a shinobi, raised to torture and kill, sees what you were doing to that animal as cruel and despicable. My friend could've killed you in a second, you're lucky he didn't. Just because you think you're tough, doesn't mean that you should be picking on the little guy, you never know when someone stronger than you might take pity on them."

With his quota of words for this month met, he turned away from them and toward his charge. Kinoe had scoped the animal's body up, and was looking at Kakashi with a heart-wrenching expression. It was a painful mix of despair and pleading, and the way he looked at the silver-haired boy, it was like he was expecting him to make it all better.

Kakashi hesitated, knowing that the cat was likely dead by this point, or close to it, and he really didn't want Kinoe getting his hopes up. But, at the same time, this was the most emotion he'd seen out of the kid.

It didn't hurt to try, Kakashi reasoned with himself, he grabbed the boy's shoulder and shunshined away in a poof of smoke.

Landing in their temporary camp, ignoring the enquiring gazes of his dogs, he steered Kinoe to the base of a tree. Pushing him down, Kakashi examined the boy's bloodied knuckles, noticing the damage for later.  
"Uhei, med-kit," Kakashi ordered, turning his attention to the battered cat, pulling Kinoe's arms away slightly.

The small animal's skin clung loosely to it frame, bones easily seen under skin and fur. It was covered with dirt, grime, and traces of blood. Kakashi was deeply concerned when he found it was bleeding from the mouth and nose, he couldn't treat internal bleeding. Beyond that, he could feel several broken bones, its ribs and limbs especially.

The only good news was that it was still breathing, but Kakashi doubted that would last much longer. If it were up to him he'd put the animal out of its misery. However, looking into Kinoe's face, the nukenin knew he couldn't, the boy was too attached.

"I can't promise anything, Kinoe," Kakashi said carefully, wincing as those too large eyes blinked at him, "But I'll try."

Kakashi spent hours working on the feline, thanking Kami that cat anatomy was similar to a dog's. He had plenty of practice with his own dogs, but they had never gotten so banged up, at least not in one go. Throughout it all, Kinoe watched, not a word leaving his mouth, his fingers slowly stroking any part of the cat he could.

Kakashi hated to think of how much of the boy's mental state hinged on the cat's survival. It was clear that Kinoe saw something other than just a cat, his reaction to it –his anger– was like it was personal. Kakashi wouldn't be surprised if the boy saw himself in the cat, that at one point of time he was that helpless as others beat on him.

And that made Kakashi angry, even his childhood hadn't been that harsh. While he may have grown up on the battlefield, he still had his father's love to support him. He'd never been pushed into doing something he wasn't comfortable with, at least not until he was a chuunin.

With a mental sigh, he finished trying the last batch of bandages, and animal looked more like a ball of bandages with wooden legs then a cat by this point. But there was nothing more that could be done for it, they'd have to see if it survived the night.

Repacking Rin's med-kit, he looked at Kinoe again, the boy had pulled the cat close, mindful of the splints, and stroked it reassuringly. Kakashi knew there was nothing he could say to make the boy feel any better, so he just stood, briefly resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Kakashi-san."

Kinoe's small voice made him pause, the boy had never called him by name before.

"Thank you."

"Thank me if she makes it, kid."

* * *

By the time Kakashi rolled out of his bedroll the next morning, Kinoe was up and about, rummaging through his bag. It wasn't long before the boy found what he was looking for and returned to his bedroll.

Kakashi pushed himself up, ignoring Pakkun's grumbling as he was ousted from his sleeping spot. He first checked on Guruko and Uhei's positions, they were still in their guard positions from last night. Both turned to look at him as he stood, he gave them grateful nods, and the dogs stretched before settling down for a nap.

With that done, he did a quick perimeter check, and checked his animal traps, that lay a little ways from camp. He returned with two rabbits and a squirrel, after a quick field dressing, he turned to Kinoe.

The boy was crouched on his bedroll, speaking in soft tones, pulling dried pieces of meat from his pouch.

Kakashi moved to stand beside him and was surprised to see the cat not only still alive but awake. Its one eye was swollen shut, and its movements were slow, but it was improvement. Kinoe was offering it the food, but the cat wouldn't touch it beyond a few small licks.

Kinoe looked up at him in confusion.

"Why won't she eat?"

Kakashi frowned behind his mask, knowing that the prognosis for an animal with no appetite wasn't good. He turned away, ignoring the boy's question, and looked for a canteen. Quickly locating what he was looking for, he unscrewed the cap and poured a small amount of water in it.

Holding it under the cat's nose, he was rewarded when the animal took a few small laps. It was better than nothing.

"It probably hurts," Kakashi finally answered, "Keep her hydrated, and keep trying to feed her small pieces of food."

* * *

Days passed and little by little the tiny feline improved, which thrilled Kinoe. His eyes lit up and an overjoyed smile light his face at every sign of improvement. Kakashi thought that for once he looked like an actual child of his age, and breathed a sigh of relief once the animal was out of the woods.

He didn't know how Kinoe would react if the cat died after they'd invested so much into its survival.

At the same time, he knew that their group had increased from five to six mouths to feed, there was no way that the kid would leave that cat behind now. The dogs were agitated by its presence in the beginning, though they mostly ignored the cat. But Kakashi had caught them side eying it worriedly whenever it seemed to back track in its recovery. They would get along fine.

As the bandages came off and the feline was cleaned up, she was revealed to be a silver tabby with white paws and chest. Kinoe was besotted, and named her Mirai, thankfully the feeling was mutual and the cat adored Kinoe. She certainly put up with more than Kakashi had come expect most cats to tolerate.

She tolerated the dogs just fine, even playing with Uhei on occasion, and would sit with Kakashi sometimes when he was standing guard. Mirai thankfully easily fit into their strange group without any major issue.

Which should've been a warning sign for the nukenin, after all nothing ever goes well for him, at least with something on the horizon.

* * *

Kakashi once again found himself seated at a food stall –thankfully not ramen– with Kinoe by his side. The boy loved trying new foods, and had taken to pestering Kakashi about going into different places every time they went to town. There were times where the silver-haired boy would wonder if he didn't prefer the quiet, emotionless Kinoe, his wallet certainly did.

Not that the boy was paying him any mind.

No, the brat was solely focused on the girl that sat beside him. She was around Kinoe's age maybe a year or so older, dark short hair and eyes, but otherwise unremarkable. Well, she would be unremarkable if not for the piglet that sat on her lap.

Kinoe was fascinated with it, as she was fascinated by Mirai, who was curled around Kinoe's neck. The cat was watching the pig through slited amber eyes; the pig, however, paid the cat no mind.

"I don't think I caught your names, I'm Shizune and this is Tonton," the girl said, and at the sound of its name the pig squealed in delight.

"Cool," Kinoe laughed, shaking the girl's hand and patting the pig's head, "This is Mirai, and that's Kakashi. I'm Tenzo."

Kakashi startled at the name, giving Kinoe a measuring look, noticing the tensing of his shoulders and the slight shock on his face. He clearly hadn't intended to give that name to the girl, or anywhere in Kakashi hearing. He kept silent for now, but shot the boy a look that let him know that there would be a conversation.

"Pleasure," Kakashi said, waving a hand, not liking the whole hand shake thing. It gave an unknown enemy too many opportunities to stick you with something.

"So where are you guys from?" she asked with a friendly, open air about her, Kakashi didn't trust it for a minute.

"Here and there," he said before Kinoe could say anything, "Not really from anywhere. And you?"

"Fire Country, though we travel a lot as well," Shizune said giving him a look, one that clearly said she saw through his attempt to avoid talking about himself. "Are you staying in town?"

"Nah," Kinoe said, shaking his head, "We're heading out today."

"Oh," Kakashi could've sworn that was disappointment flicking across her features, "Where are you heading?"

"Not sure yet," Kakashi interjected, "We'll decide as we go."

"I understand that," the girl nodded, "That's what my Shishō and I do, but don't your parents worry?"

"My parents are dead," Kakashi snorted, looking down at his food briefly.

"I never knew my parents," Kinoe said, "Or, at least, I don't remember them."

"I'm sorry," Shizune asked, guilt coloring her features, "I shouldn't have asked, I just assumed you were siblings or something."

Kakashi chuckled, as Kinoe looked horrified at the prospect.

"Me related to him?" the boy choked out.

"Maa," Kakashi grinned, enjoying the boy's embarrassment, "I found him on the side of the road, and he started following me like a lost puppy."

Kinoe glared at him darkly, and Kakashi eye smiled. Shizune laughed at their antics; while Mirai, noticing her savior's distress, stood fur bristling and hissing at the henged boy.

"Sorry for asking, you two just look so similar."

That only made Kinoe's scowl deepen, sending an accusing look at the older male, Kakashi just lifted his hands in surrender. He was greatly amused by Kinoe's flustered appearance, but knew the boy was just joking around. There was an amused light in his eyes, the brat.

"Shizune!"

All three of them, as well as Mirai and Tonton, startled at the angry shout. Kakashi had palmed some shuriken, while Kinoe turned to face the oncoming threat. Shizune stiffened, glancing back in surprised horror, before scrambling to her feet.

A blond woman, was bearing down on them, the purple diamond marking on her forehead was marred by her furrowed brows. A frown pulled at her lips, and her eyes were narrowed on the girl.

Kakashi frowned, he didn't like the woman's tone or body language, especially directed at a young civilian girl. He stood, giving Kinoe a sharp look keeping him in place, and moved to stand beside the dark-haired girl.

The woman paused, eyes widening minutely before her lips twitched upward. She came to a stop directly in front of them, pulling herself up to tower over them. Kakashi didn't twitch, he'd faced down much scarier opponents in his life time, and a cheap intimidation tactic wasn't going to work.

"I see you've made some friends, Shizune," the blond said, eyes not leaving Kakashi form.

Shizune blinked, giving Kakashi a wary glance, as if she were afraid for him. Then she turned back to the stranger with a sharp nod.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," Shizune said, confidence seeping into her voice.

But Kakashi didn't register it, more focused on his internal panic attack.

Tsunade? Tsunade of the sannin? His father told him that she could shatter bone with a single finger, kill a man with one punch. And that if you pissed her off she'd beat you to the brink of death, heal you, then do it all over again.

The silver-haired nin took a shaky breath to calm himself, loosening his limbs prepared to move at a moment's notice.

The sannin noticed and her grin widened, eyes shining with amusement.

"Well aren't you going to introduce me?"

"Oh," Shizune startled, "These are Kakashi and Tenzo; guys this is my Shishō, Senju Tsunade."

"Pleasure," Kakashi grit out, with Kinoe copying him.

The girl, Kakashi was horrified to learn, was training under one of the most feared living medical-nin. And he'd mistaken her for a civilian. He felt like an idiot, after all when does he ever meet normal people.

He gave Kinoe a side glance, was he some powerful heir to an extinct clan or something? Kakashi wouldn't be surprised by this point.

"I'm sure," Tsunade said, "You boys from around here?"

"No, Tsunade-sama," Shizune answered before Kakashi could, "They're actually leaving town today."

"Are they."

It wasn't a question, they all knew it, and Kakashi shifted slightly putting Kinoe in more defensible place. The silver-haired boy didn't like the thoughtful look in the Slug sannin's eyes, and was fully prepared to flee.

"Well, it just so happens that we're also leaving town today, and I'm sure Shizune wouldn't mind more company of her age."

"That's not–" Kakashi started, but Shizune turned to him with a large grin on her face.

"That'd be great! You said you didn't have a destination in mind, so you wouldn't be going out of your way."

"Uh…"

"I guess it's not a terrible idea," Kinoe mused behind him, "Large groups mean it's less likely for us to be attacked."

Kakashi took back every good thing he'd ever said about the brat, he was going to strangle him next chance he got.

"Wonderful," the sannin said, eyes still focused solely on Kakashi, "I take it you're staying in the inn?"

"Yes," Kakashi grit out, cursing his decision to stay in town, they could've slipped away if they camped out.

"Let's go then, brats," Tsunade said, turning back down the street.

The entire walk to the inn was spent with Kakashi silently cursing his life, Kinoe and Shizune happily talking about their joint trip, and the damned Sannin wickedly smirking looking for the world like a cat who'd caught the canary.

Why were all these crazy Konoha shinobi drawn to him? Honestly, he never met a crazy Suna shinobi or anyone from Kusa! He was cursed, from the moment the damned Yellow Flash let him live. He's been marked with something invisible to him. but every damned Leaf-nin could see it and were drawn to it!

* * *

Kakashi had been under the impression that things would calm down after he and Kinoe left the Sannin and her apprentice. Though it hadn't been as bad as he'd been expecting, Shizune was nice and balanced out her manic, explosive, and depressing sensei. He would go as far as to hesitantly call them allies, maybe.

It was the decision to enter Fire County that led to the spilt, when Kakashi mentioned it Tsunade's face closed and her eyes darkened. Shizune winced at the sight and looked away. He knew that the slug queen had separated from her village, but hadn't expected such an adverse reaction to just entering the country's borders. He didn't push the issue at first, but knew that he wanted to head that way as they were getting dangerously close to Kumo's borders.

Tsunade had brushed off his concerns, stating that any hunter-nin that came after them would be suicidal. He agreed but didn't want to escalate tensions between Konoha and Kumo if they saw Tsunade protecting their nukenin as a threat. By traveling into Fire Country he'd hopefully be able to avoid any hunter-nin since he doubted Konoha would let them cross borders. Besides, ever since he gained his shadow there had been a suspicious decline in Konoha ANBU after him.

So, he packed his bag, gathered the hounds, and thanked Tsunade for her hospitality, gave Shizune a small smile, and told her that he was glad they'd meet. And as he turned to go Kinoe was scrabbling to collect his stuff, snapping that Kakashi wouldn't be going anywhere without him. With their goodbyes said, and the promise to keep in touch (Kinoe and Shizune) they set out.

He was now regretting that decision as he deflected a kunai while dodging a burst of lightning. Leaping into the thick branches above him, his eye rapidly looked for Kinoe, hoping the kid was alright. The hounds were holding their own protecting each other and ganging up on any hunter-nin that got too close.

What the hell were Kumo hunter-nin doing this far in Konoha territory?! He grunted as a shinobi locked blades with him, the man was much larger and was easily forcing him back. Knowing that it wouldn't end well for him this way, Kakashi channeled his chakra into the blade allowing lightning to start dancing from it. The hunter's eyes widened and he disengaged before the lighting could jump to his blade and travel back to him.

Kakashi gasped in the short reprieve, they were hopelessly outnumbered, fighting against fully rested shinobi trained in taking down nukenin quickly and efficiently. On top of that he'd lost track of how long they'd been at this, the hunters keep cycling back to rest and recuperate while he and Kinoe were left on the defensive. His lightning blade crackled defensively in front of him, his back was to the tree's trunk and the hunter-nin were hovering just out of striking distance.

He saw no way out of this one, he'd never had to face this many nin all targeting him before, not without his father. Kinoe was nowhere to be seen, which left a bad feeling in his gut, if that kid died because of him…

He growled at the thought, being pessimistic wouldn't solve anything, so what did he have. His chakra was low but he could still fight, Uhei was limping heavily, and Pakkun wasn't moving. But Guruko was fending the nin off snapping and snarling as he defended his fallen packmate. Kinoe may still be around, he didn't smell death on the air. Honestly, he didn't have much, but he'd be damned if he went down without a fight.

Fueling more chakra into the blade he lunged to the side to engage with the nin that had been circling behind him. The shinobi was surprised by the attack and instinctually brought a kunai up in defense, the lightning from his blade immediately jumped from his blade to the kunai and up the man's arm. He screamed, dropping the kunai and allowing Kakashi easy access to his torso.

Kakashi pulled his tanto free of the hunter to meet the nin behind him, the meet in a clang of metal, his chakra reserve was too low to continuously hold the lightning blade. The hunter suddenly disengaged, as he felt a flare of chakra behind him. his eye widened and he used shunshin to escape the fireball. Landing in a tree a few meters away he gasped, the world tilting dangerously as his reserves started failing him.

A sharp gasp escaped him as a blade tore through his shoulder, it would've gone through his heart if not for his loss of balance. With as short cry Kakashi wretched himself free kicking the hunter back, before stumbling and losing his footing. Before he could correct himself, the ground was fast approaching.

He caught himself, barely, and pushed himself to his knees, there was no energy left, no adrenaline to push himself any further. Where was Kinoe?

There was a shadow in front of him, the sharp edge of the blade was visible at the edge of his vison. So, this is how it ends?

The blade vanished as it was raised.

Where was Kinoe?

Did he survive?

What will happen to his pack?

He could hear the sound of the blade cutting through the air towards his neck.

Then the ground shifted and he was encased in darkness.

What?

He did have the energy to move, but his sensitive hearing could pick the screaming of the hunter-nin beyond what he was trapped in. The scent of fresh blood and death stung his nose. What was happening?

Then in what felt like an eternity the darkness fell away, Kinoe was standing there, eyes wide and fearful. He was covered in mud and shaking like a leaf, the moment his eyes took in Kakashi battered but breathing for relief crashed down on his face.

"Thank, Kami!" the boy gasped, rushing forward to help Kakashi to his feet, "I thought I was too late! I got thrown in a blast and passed out and then I woke up and you were still fighting, I could hear you still fighting, and I knew I had to help, and then I saw you get stabbed and fall from the tree, then he was going to kill you, and I know Danzo-sama always tells me not to show my abilities to anyone or else I'll be punished but I couldn't let them kill you, and I'm sorry for lying to you, and… and…"

"Kinoe," Kakashi gasped, trying to stop the rush of words coming from the kid's mouth, "Breath, I'm alright."

"But what about…"

"Kinoe I knew from the start that you were sent to spy on me and more than likely capture me."

"You did?"

"You aren't a good actor, Kinoe," Kakashi laughed, before wincing.

Kinoe was frowning, as he pulled the older shinobi to his feet.

"Tenzo," Kinoe said suddenly, as Kakashi started to take in the damage surrounding them.

"Hmm?"

"Call me Tenzo."

"That's the name you gave Shizune, I take it that's your real one."

"Maybe, I've always been called Kinoe, but sometimes I hear someone call me that in my dreams, and it sounds right."

"Ok then, Tenzo, you wouldn't happen to know where all this wood came from do you?" Kakashi asked, looking around the battle field at the twisted pieces of wood that wound its way through the forest obviously in chase or having impaled some hunter-nin.

The younger male shifted uneasily as they made their way to the pack where Pakkun was starting to regain his feet with the help of Guruko, and Mirai was cleaning Uhei's wound. At the hesitation, Kakashi raised a brow in the kid's direction which had him sighing in defeat.

"I'm a Mokuton user," Tenzo muttered.

And though Kakashi was expecting it, the information still sent him stumbling, he had been hoping there was some other explanation.

"So you're a descendant of the first Hokage?" Kakashi asked, thinking back on when he was wondering if Tenzo belonged to some long-lost clan.

"No." Tenzo responded immediately, "At least I don't think so, I have nightmares and vague memories of a laboratory."

There was a cold feeling in his stomach that wasn't due to chakra exhaustion, was Konoha experimenting on children to get the Mokuton ability back? He didn't think they were that cold, that was more Kiri's thing, but you learned something new every day. All this information changed was that he'd be damned if he let them get their grubby fingers on Tenzo again.

"Hmm, Tenzo?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you feel about leaving the main continent for a while?"

"You mean you're not throwing me out?"

"Nonsense, I think the pack would revolt if I did."

"Oh, well think that sounds like a good idea."

"Good."

* * *

Minato stalked into the council room, face set in a stony expression, with a crumpled letter in his fist.

The council, and the Sandaime, sat around the table. All but one giving the normally cheery blond confused looks, unsure of why they'd so suddenly been summoned by their new Hokage. Danzo was the only one who stayed silent, a scowl on his face, as he looked deep in thought.

"Is something wrong, Minato?" Sarutobi asked, chewing on the end of his pipe as he did so.

"Why don't you tell me?" the Yellow Flash barked, slamming the paper onto the table as he reached his seat.

The former Hokage looked startled at the younger man's tone. But he knew something must be wrong, then he noticed how his old teammates drew themselves up in offense at the tone. But Hiruzen's sharp look kept them silent.

After all, Minato's icy gaze wasn't focused on them, but rather the man at the other end of the table.

Danzo met the young Kage's gaze with one of indifference, not batting an eye at the barely contained killer intent.

"Is there something you're accusing me of, _Hokage-sama_?" Danzo made the title sound like an insult, but Minato didn't rise to the bait.

Instead he answered the man with steel in his voice, sharp as a kunai.

"Perhaps you can enlighten me, as to why I got this angry letter from the Raikage?" as he spoke, Minato jabbed the paper he brought angrily.

Sarutobi, Homura, and Koharu, glanced at the paper pensively. They had just finished peace talks with Kumo, and the treaty with Iwa was in its final stages, the shinobi ranks were tired and growing thin. If war broke out again on the verge of peace, moral would drop to an all-time low.

"Is the young fool calling for war again?" Danzo asked, no once glancing at the paper.

"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" Minato snarled, "He wants to know why one of our men aided in the escape of one of their nukenin."

"They wouldn't have, if you hadn't allowed Kumo-nin to traverse our land without supervision!"

"It was a show of trust, besides there were Anbu shadowing them at all times."

"It shows we're weak, giving into their demands!"

"Enough!" Sarutobi stood, staring down his nose at the two shinobi, "Why don't we figure out this problem like adults, instead of squabbling like children?"

"Minato-sama, why would you blame Danzo for one shinobi's actions?" Koharu asked, "Surely, this is a matter to be taken up with the shinobi in question."

Minato leaned back in his chair, and pinched the bridge of his nose, before turning his gaze on the other elders.

"I would, Koharu-sama, however, the shinobi in question is not one I'm familiar with."

Minato's sharp gaze narrowed on both Sarutobi and Danzo, who stiffened in their seats. Sarutobi shot Danzo an exasperated look, with a deep frown pulling at the lines on his face. Danzo, meanwhile, frowned deeply as well, eyes calculating.

"If that is the case, why would the Raikage think the shinobi was one of ours?" Homura asked slowly. "And beyond that who did they help escape?"

Minato let a grin stretch across his face, it was a grin that promised pain in the near future, a room full of lesser shinobi would have fled at the sight of it.

"The nukenin was Hatake Kakashi," Danzo's eye narrowed. "And, well, the Mokuton is a distinctly Konoha feature."

Three of the elders stared at Minato like he'd grown two heads, but the blond paid them no mind, focused solely on Danzo. The man who's only look of surprise was a slight clenching of his jaw.

"Are you certain?" Koharu asked, on the verge of rising to her feet.

"I had Anbu investigate the scene, their findings only verify the Raikage's claims."

The two elders, Koharu and Homura, seemed to be in shock, with Homura whispering about the possibilities of that under his breath. Hiruzen's frown was only deepening, with his eyes slowly focusing on Danzo.

"You don't seem surprised," Minato said coolly, eyes tracking Danzo's every movement.

"Should I be?"

"Who was he, Danzo?"

"A shinobi under my command," the older man said, not showing any sign of having done something wrong.

"You know how long we've desired to have a Mokuton user among our ranks," Sarutobi cut in, staring at his old friend, "And yet you've kept this man a secret?"

"How did he even come to have the ability?" Homura continued, "Not even Hashirama's decedents showed any sign of processing it."

"That's because the _boy_ didn't come to this ability naturally, did he, Danzo?" Minato said, crossing his arms.

"Boy?" Hiruzen asked, brows pulled down in confusion.

"Yes, boy," Minato confirmed, "The child can't be older than ten, if my informant can be believed."

As he spoke two Anbu appeared at his shoulders, one with a stylized fox mask, the other a hawk mask. Minato, didn't acknowledge them, despite them being the first and second in command of Anbu. As Commander Fox shifted, the hidden guards appeared, on edge, and waiting for a command.

"And just who is your informant?" Danzo growled, showing the first bit of emotion in this meeting. Not in the least bit phased by the Anbu guard around him.

"The very person you hired to create him," Minato sneered, "Orochimaru."

 **Hi! Can anyone believe its been two years? I** **certainly can't. Apologizes for how disjointed this chapter is, the vast majority of it was written two years ago and for the life of me I can't remember how I wanted certain parts to go. I was hoping to get this done sooner but between writing my sapstone thesis and field research it didn't happen. But I'm done now and have my diploma so maybe more chapters? I don't know I need to get my life sorted, and hopefully one day I can add to this.**

 **Thanks to all of you who are still reading this, you guys are awesome and I probably wouldn't have found the desire to make this chapter somewhat ordered and readable if not for your comments. So thanks to you guys, and to anyone who is also suffering in the heat please try and stay cool and hydrated.**


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